Today we begin the new Church Year. And we know that the two greatest feast days of the year—the two poles on which the whole year hangs—are Christmas and Easter. Christmas, which celebrates the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus—that God the Son took on human nature, and became man—and was born for us, a baby in Bethlehem; and Easter, which celebrates his passion, death, and resurrection: all of this to save us! And we celebrate these two feasts not only as single days but as the beginnings of the Christmas season and Easter season; and in both cases we prepare for them with special seasons of preparation. (more…)

We have reached the Third Sunday of Advent, and our excitement is building for the Second Coming of our Lord Jesus! Or at least it is if we are letting the Scripture readings each week sink into our hearts.

For back on the First Sunday, we heard our Lord Jesus promise that he would come again, and warn us that when he would come would be unexpected. And so he urged us: Stay awake! Be prepared!

And then, last week, we were reminded by the prophet Isaiah and John the Baptist about why we should look forward to this Second Coming with anticipation. (more…)

Back in 1950, the residents of the town of Flagstaff Village, Maine, knew that their town would soon be flooded. A dam was being built that would expand the nearby lake, completely covering where their town was then standing. And so plans were being made to move the residents elsewhere, and to clear the land before the flooding.

And during those final months, as one man noted, no repairs were being done. Which is pretty understandable. After all, why paint a wall, or repair a hole, or improve any aspect of a house that will soon be destroyed? So no one did it. They just let them go.

The world is groaning. We heard St. Paul write in our first reading: all creation is groaning—is groaning in labor pains even until now; and not only that, but we ourselves… we also groan. Why this groaning? You know. In the verses immediately before this passage, he speaks of the sufferings of this present time; of futility; of slavery to corruption. And we all know what that means. It means political corruption and terrorism; it means sickness and death; it means drudgery and depression; it means conflict and heartache. And so we groan.

And like children on a trip, we say: “Are we there yet?” Because we have hope. (more…)